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Convict transportation registers database

About this database

This database has been compiled from British Home Office (HO) records which are available on microfilm as part of the Australian Joint Copying Project (AJCP). The HO 11 Criminal – Convict Transportation Registers series has been indexed by the State Library of Queensland and the index contains the following information:

• Name of convict, including any known aliases
• Place of trial *
• Term of years
• Name of ship and date of departure
• Place of arrival
• Miscellaneous notes e.g. Died at sea; Ticket of Leave, etc.

* The date of trial is recorded on the original registers and will be gradually added to this database

Over 123,000 out of the estimated 160,000 convicts transported to Australia are recorded in this database. These include prisoners sent to New South Wales, Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania), Moreton Bay (Brisbane), Port Phillip. Western Australia and Norfolk Island. Also recorded are some ships which were bound for Gibraltar. The records cover the period of 1787 to 1867.

These records mainly include those convicted in England, Wales and Scotland. Only a small number of Irish convicts appear in this series of the Home Office records. The database also includes soldiers who had been court-martialled and sentenced to transportation. These 'soldier convicts' may have been convicted in various British colonies including the West Indies, India, Pakistan and Canada.

Please note: The original records on which this database is based is not an exhaustive list of all convicts sent to Australia.

The Convict Transportation Registers are available on the following Australian Joint Copying Project microfilm:

AJCP Reel	Piece No.	Date
87	1	1787-1809
87-88	2	1810-1817
88	3	1818-1820
88	4	1821-1822
88	5	1823-1825
88-89	6	1826-1828
89	7	1829-1830
89	8	1831-1832
90	9	1833-1834
90	10	1835-1836
90	11	1837-1838
91	12	1839-1841
91	13	1842-1843
91	14	1844-1845
92	15	1846-1848
92	16	1849-1850
92	17	1851-1852
93	18	1853-1863
93	19	1864-1867

The AJCP microfilm collections are held at the National Library of Australia and the State Libraries. The original records are held at the National Archives in London.

Transcribing from handwritten documents can be a difficult undertaking. We have endeavored to accurately record each name, but there may be occasions when errors have occurred.

There may be discrepancies in the way personal names have been spelt on different resources. In these cases we use the exact spelling used on the original registers.    

For further information on other convict records held in our collection please consult the following information guides, available at the Family history Info Guides page:

• 3.12 - Convict research: getting started
• 3.13 - Convict research: finding out even more

More information

If you have an enquiry, you can get in touch with us in any of the following ways:

• Telephone + 61 7 3840 7810
• Fax + 61 7 3840 7795
• Ask us
• Visit us

Please use our feedback form to send us any comments relating to the database.